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|By PR Newswire||
|January 15, 2014 12:14 PM EST||
BOSTON, Jan. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Potassium Sorbate? Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate? Disodium Dihydrogen Pyrophosphate? Good Food Made Simple – a brand committed to using clean, simple ingredients – believes that if you can't pronounce an ingredient, or don't know what it means, you should be highly skeptical of eating it. That's why today, Good Food Made Simple is launching "Eat Clean, Eat Simple," a national campaign that helps people take control of what they put in their bodies by educating and inspiring them to read and understand ingredient labels – not just glance at the Nutrition Facts.
A recent survey conducted by Good Food Made Simple reveals that despite warnings about harmful ingredients found in packaged foods, Americans still purchase and consume foods that contain ingredients directly linked to long-term health problems. According to the survey, only 35 percent of Americans always read ingredient lists before purchasing packaged food. Of those people, only half of them do so to make sure that all of the ingredients are clean – with no preservatives, no additives, no hydrogenated oils (a source of trans fat), no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners.
"Consumers are used to the convenience that comes with packaged foods, however, convenience often comes with a trade-off of less than wholesome ingredients," said George Gavris, Managing Partner at Good Food Made Simple, Inc. "We passionately believe that ingredients are the priority in every product, so we only use clean ingredients – ones people can understand and identify – that come from nature and farms, not science labs. We are launching Eat Clean, Eat Simple to inspire educated label reading, providing clarity and context along the way, so people can understand the importance of eating real, wholesome foods and how it affects your health," said Gavris.
Key Survey Results
People don't always understand what's in their food.
- Real stat: Despite 87 percent of respondents stating that clean food products are important to them, 57 percent of these respondents report having purchased a leading macaroni and cheese product that is filled with preservatives and additives in the past two years.
- Real food for thought: Carry a cheat sheet – which can be found on www.goodfoodmadesimple.com/eatclean – in your wallet to further educate yourself on unacceptable ingredients.
It's simply expected that preservatives and additives are in our food.
- Real stat: Sadly, 50 percent of respondents say they would expect to find additives and/or preservatives – such as Calcium Carbonate, Guar Gum, Caramel Color and Vitamin A Palmitate – in instant oatmeal.
- Real food for thought: Next time you purchase this common breakfast food, look for options that only contain recognizable ingredients.
People need to make time to learn what ingredients mean for their health.
- Real stat: 41 percent of people say they only sometimes read ingredient lists because they don't have time. Just over one in five say it's because they don't understand most of the ingredients.
- Real food for thought: You might be rushed and you might be tongue-tied, but that's no excuse for not understanding what you are putting in your body. Look for foods with ingredients you understand and trust.
Studies have shown that even a small amount of trans fat can result in an increased risk of coronary heart disease.
- Real fact: When asked if they would buy a product with trans fats, only 11 percent of people say never and 34 percent say sometimes.
- Real food for thought: Know your fats! Even if you are making foods at home you could be adding ingredients that include trans fats. Over time, trans fats clog your arteries and can harm your health.
Starting today, people can visit GoodFoodMadeSimple.com/EatClean to learn more about ingredients found in packaged foods, dispel common food myths and download a "Top 10 List of Ingredients to Avoid." Consumers can also participate in a brief ingredients quiz to receive coupons and a chance to win a "Clean Supermarket Sweep" – a grocery-shopping spree with a food expert to guide label reading and clean food purchasing.
About Good Food Made Simple
Good Food Made Simple is a national, all-natural packaged food company out of Boston, MA that vets all ingredients to meet a strict criteria of no artificial preservatives, no hydrogenated oils (a source of trans fat), and no artificial ingredients (including colors, flavors and sweeteners). Good Food Made Simple products are made with all-natural ingredients packed into quick, convenient and delicious meals. For more information go to GoodFoodMadeSimple.com, Facebook.com/GoodFoodMadeSimple, or follow @GFMSimple on Twitter.
SOURCE Good Food Made Simple
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If Lil' Fizz is gonna have a ganja operation, might as well make it available for everyone with a prescription, right? Unfortunately, now it's gonna cost him—big time.
The former B2K member is on the receiving end of a lawsuit being brought by the State of California seeking to shut down a weed dispensary he co-owns after determining it's operating unlawfully.
Wake and bake it's not.
According to the City Attorney, Fizz (real name Dreux Pierre Frédéric) opened his medical marijuana enterprise, dubbed aptly enough Little Amsterdam, on July 1, 2010, in West Hollywood, where such businesses are considered a nuisance and banned.
As a result, per the complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by E! News, the operation of the dispensary is a violation of the Los Angeles Municipal Code Section, which prohibits the use of land unless it is authorized by the city's zoning code. It's also a violation of the health and safety code.
Prosecutors are not only seeking to shutter the shop, but also want the rapper to pay a $2,500 fine for every day the dispensary's doors have been open.
That adds up to a whopping 477 days—or a massive $1,192,500 penalty. And that's not including another $750,000 the state's demanding to cover law enforcement costs and legal bills.
A rep for Little Amsterdam was unavailable for comment, as the shop doesn't open until noon.
Its customers need their beauty sleep, right?
—Reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum

domain: news


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Reno3 is the next flagship smartphone from OPPO that is confirmed to come with 5G support. The Reno3 is expected to launch in December in China and will also make way to other markets like India, Europe, etc. The device succeeds the Reno2 series that was launched earlier this year. Alongside the Reno3, OPPO is also planning to launch Reno3 Pro 5G. The company has already confirmed the same through its social media accounts. Today, surprisingly, OPPO took to Weibo to announce the much-awaited Reno3 revealing the full design of the back. The OPPO Reno 3 and Reno 3 Pro are now open for appointments on the official site. Apart from this, a new real hands-on image of the Reno 3 Pro 5G has been teased.
As per the teaser video posted by OPPO, the Reno3 5G will sport a quad-camera setup on the back that is arranged vertically one camera below the other. The OPPO branding and volume rocker buttons can be seen on the right side of the phone. What we can see from the side view of the phone is that the display has curved edges, which OPPO calls a waterfall display and had showcased it in July 2019. The back of the phone has a gradient design. As for the features of the Reno3, the company announced that the device will support dual-mode 5G and has a built-in 5G integrated chip that supports SA / NSA dual-mode 5G network.
Earlier reports suggest that Reno3 will be equipped with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 processor that was launched earlier this month. OPPO had already confirmed that the Reno3 Pro would sport Snapdragon 765G processor, ultra-thin form factor, weigh less than 180g and finally will be powered by a 4025mAh battery.


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WarnerMedia wants to download Crunchyroll, its anime subscription streaming service – with a asking price of at least $ 1 billion – because parent company AT&T is trying to pay off debts, sources say Amount. One of the potential buyers is Sony Pictures Entertainment, which operates the competing Funimation service.
WarnerMedia’s move to sell Crunchyroll was previously reported by The Information, which said the media company wanted $ 1.5 billion for the streamer. But a source familiar with WarnerMedia’s plans said it was much higher than the company expects to get for Crunchyroll, which is outsourced to additional buyers in addition to Sony.
Reps for WarnerMedia, Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment declined to comment.
Two weeks ago, Crunchyroll announced that it surpassed 3 million paying subscribers worldwide and has more than 70 million registered users. In the United States, the service without a subscription section on the service is $ 7.99 per month and includes simulations of Japanese anime programs as soon as one hour after they are broadcast in the country.
Crunchyroll currently has more than 1
Crunchyroll is part of WarnerMedia’s Otter Media division, which also includes rooster teeth, full screen, VRV and interests in Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and studio Gunpowder & Sky. (Telco bought out Chernin Group’s majority stake in Otter 2018.)
For the past two years, AT&T has strategically sold assets to reduce the debt burden. Last year, for example, AT&T sold its 10% stake in Hulu for $ 1.43 billion. At the end of June, the company reported $ 153.4 billion in long-term debt, much of which was raised from the Time Warner deal.
Crunchyroll was founded in 2006 and is currently led by General Manager Joanne Waage. She took over for co-founder and former GM Kun Gao at the end of 2018.
Earlier this year, Crunchyroll announced its inaugural slate with original, with 12 total series announced so far. The first two originals “Tower of God”, a Crunchyroll and Webtoon Production and “The God of High School”, both set new viewing records on the platform, according to Otter Media.
At the end of 2019, Crunchyroll closed the majority acquisition of Viz Media Europe Group and expanded its suite of consumer brands to include streaming services Anime Digital Network (in collaboration with Citel, a subsidiary of Média-Participations) and Anime on Demand, DVD and manga publisher KAZÉ, and live-action content seller Eye See Movies. Crunchyroll also hosts events (including owned events Crunchyroll Expo, Anime Awards, Crunchyroll Movie Nights and KAZÉ Anime Nights), offers a range of consumer products, runs Crunchyroll Games and sells manga titles.
Funimation and Crunchyroll previously had an agreement to cross-license content (under which Crunchyroll had offered subtitled versions and Funimation provided duplicate versions of the same show). But Sony, which bought Funimation 2017, closed that deal in 2018. Funimation is now an independently run joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.


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With Windows Phone now a thing of the past, Microsoft is continuing to strengthen its ties to Google’s Android operating system. The firm has released a new update to its Your Phone app that brings your smartphone and your PC that little bit closer together.
Microsoft’s Your Phone app for Windows 10 now lets you make and receive phone calls from your desktop or laptop. This functionality was initially tested back in October, but now it’s rolling out in full.
The addition to the Your Phone app is incredibly useful, especially if you want to desperately make a call but don’t want to walk into another room to grab your Android device.
The Windows 10 feature is accessed using the aptly titled Calls tab within the Your Phone app. This lets you scroll through your list of contacts or type new number in using the virtual keypad.
Microsoft isn’t stopping there though, it’s also introducing a number of nifty software tricks that make the functionality even more intuitive to use. Chief among these is the fact you can transfer calls between your PC and Android phone.
The new feature is available on all smartphones running Android 7 Nougat or newer and is rolling out right now, meaning if you don’t have it immediately, you will in the near future.
Announcing the upgrade, Microsoft said: “Thank you Windows Insiders for your feedback over the last couple of months. Today, we’re pleased to announce the general availability of the Your Phone app Calls feature, which allows you to receive and make phone calls on your PC.”
Microsoft’s update to the Your Phone app bolsters its already healthy feature set. The app can already deliver notifications and text messages from an Android device to a PC that has been linked to it.
Additionally, users are also able to view their phone’s recent photos on their computer using Your Phone, too.
There’s also a number of other features in Your Phone that are worth shouting about, like the ability to mirror your phone screen on your PC for instance.
Since its initial reveal last year, Microsoft’s Your Phone app has been embraced by the Windows 10 faithful across the globe. The software has been downloaded over 50 million times on the Google Play Store.


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realme will be launching its realme GT Neo 3 150W phone Thor: Love and Thunder Edition Marvel collaboration this coming July 7.
Madhav Sheth, realme VP, teased the new smartphone in a tweet alongside realme India’s confirmation showing the phone’s back having a Thor’s Hammer design.
This would be the second time realme had collaborated with Marvel. The first was the Spiderman Edition three years ago.
Lastly, the teased images also show realme GT Neo 3 150W blue colorway alongside its blue-colored charging cable that will be available on realme’s official website and physical stores in India.


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It would seem that those hackers in the Sonic fan community are right once more, for SEGA and Hardlight Studios have just revealed that the subject of their newest Sonic Dash (our review) character challenge is — in fact — none other than Cream the Bunny. This time around, as part of SEGA’s slightly belated Easter celebration, players must collectively strive to acquire as many of the randomly appearing Easter Eggs as they possibly can. However, those interested in freely obtaining Cream the Bunny should act fast — as well as furiously — for there is currently a mere eleven days remaining within which to complete this challenge.
In still other news, Hardlight Studios has just added a new feature to Sonic Dash wherein the game itself has the ability to post game play videos to the internet — upon your behalf — whenever you desire. This new function should be especially welcome to those eager to show off their mad skills, as recording high-quality iOS game play footage has long been a tricky objective to achieve. Those owning either an iPhone 5 — or iPod Touch 5 — can immediately begin availing themselves of this latest ability, whereas those with older models — such as the iPhone 4 — must electively turn it on due to the required resources.


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When I moved back to Los Angeles from New York a year ago, I decided to try forsaking what has long been considered to be as much a part of L.A. life as the sunshine and celebrities. I would go without a car.
As recently as four years it seemed to be an unthinkable and perhaps even heroic undertaking. In 2016, someone made a two-hour documentary about "surviving" carless L.A. But since then, ridesharing went mainstream and scooters became ubiquitous on city streets. I'd also gotten used to riding the train in New York and it helped that I was living in walkable and transit-accessible downtown L.A. I would save some money and reduce my carbon footprint. As an added bonus, being carless in L.A. always made for a great conversation topic.
Los Angeles County is cementing its position as the nation's center of the electric vehicle industry, where some 118,000 jobs working on everything from car design to better batteries.
The Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. said Monday, in its study on the industry, that L.A. controls 43% of California's massive EV industry. The growth helps the state compete with Michigan in what the LAEDC is calling a "hometown industry."
The struggling Santa Monica-based TrueCar, which operates the nation's fourth largest online automotive marketplace, is ripe for an acquisition as soon as the end of next month, according to a new research note from the global financial services firm BTIG.
"Based on our inbound call volume, we believe many investors are wondering if TRUE is now an acquisition target," wrote analyst Marvin Fong.


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After a two-year layoff, Americans were quick to book summer flights this year — and pay exorbitant prices for their tickets.
Airlines invoke the imbalance between supply and demand. A shortage of pilots. Jet fuel prices are rising. These factors are real.
However, airline analysts now see something more deliberate at play.
With people starting to hold off on very high prices, and some moving away from their plans to fly, demand has plummeted. The airline’s response was not to cut fares, but to keep them high by reducing the supply of seats.
“They’re starting to see some resistance from travelers to push those fares,” said George Ferguson, senior aviation and aviation analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “At this point, you either cut prices and fill the planes, or you keep prices high and start cutting capacity. So we’ve seen them cut capacity.”
In short, airlines keep cutting their schedules in July and August not necessarily because they don’t have enough pilots but in part to keep ticket prices high and increase profits.
“They know how many pilots they have to meet that schedule. And they’re still getting in the way,” Ferguson added. “The shortage of pilots is a bit of a convenient excuse here. I think they can’t fill the planes with the fare levels they’re offering. So instead of cutting those prices and cutting their profitability, they’re cutting the schedule.”
A modern economy class ticket from Seattle to New York costs just over $1,000. A direct flight from Seattle to Cincinnati costs $1,300. Seattle-Los Angeles will cost $400-500.
For many, higher prices drive up the cost of vacation. For those who have to travel on short notice, perhaps for family reasons, it may not be a matter of choice.
In a country as large as the United States, with few practical alternatives to long-haul flights, the airline network is a vital part of the country’s transportation infrastructure – now priced out of the reach of many people.
Bob Mann, an airline industry analyst and consultant, said that without pent-up travel demand, “there would be no way to buy travel at these prices.”
“There is a view that because there is an increase in demand, airlines think they can charge for whatever they want,” he said.
Inflated ticket prices ‘mind-boggling’
The US air travel system is under clear strain, suffering from delays and cancellations that cause significant inconvenience and often significant additional expenses for travelers.
In April and May, Alaska Airlines didn’t have enough pilots to fly on its schedule, resulting in hundreds of flights being canceled. And while it was struggling to cope, the Seattle-based carrier cut its schedule by 10% this month.
Over Memorial Day weekend, Delta suffered an even bigger meltdown, canceling more than 700 flights, or 7% of its schedule. It made 100 daily flights through early August.
Hundreds of thousands of passengers have had their travel plans seriously disrupted this year. However, even as the quality and reliability of the US air travel system has fallen catastrophically with no relief in sight, ticket prices have gone up.
According to data compiled by Bob Harrell, who tracks ticket prices for travel industry analysts through his consulting firm Harrell Associates, average leisure fare last week was 41% higher than the same week last year.
Compared to pre-pandemic times, the price hike is even greater. Harrell data from a five-week period in March 2022 shows that median entertainment wages were 52% higher than they were in the same period in pre-COVID 2019.
“This is mind-boggling,” said Henry Hartfeldt, travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research. “I am very concerned that we have reached a tipping point and consumers will simply say enough is enough. They will just cut back on flights.”
Airline revenues rise after a long drought
The pandemic explains part of the price pressure.
In the historical downturn in air travel over the past two years, airlines have had to significantly reduce their schedules and workforce. Now, with labor shortages — including pilots, flight attendants, baggage handlers and call center agents — airlines haven’t fully returned their employees or flights yet.
So there are fewer aircraft seats available now than in pre-pandemic times. Delta’s seat capacity in July is 85% of what it was in July 2019.
“You’re cramming a lot more people into a much smaller capacity,” Hartfeldt said.
The rise in jet fuel prices since the Russian invasion of Ukraine is another factor. The price of jet fuel is double what it was a year ago.
Alaska Airlines forecast in a statement this month that despite a fuel hedging strategy to trim the edge of higher costs, it will pay 60% more for jet fuel this quarter than it did in the same period in 2019.
And after two years of deep red ink and accumulated debt, chief executives at US carriers are seizing the opportunity to recoup some of their massive losses.
At an investor conference this month hosted by Sanford Bernstein, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said “Demand is off the charts.”
He said, “It comes with entertainment, it comes with the premium consumer. It comes with businesses, it comes with international.” “We expect prices to go up this summer probably between 25% and 30% on average. We’ve never seen anything of this magnitude.”
At the same conference, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the airline is maximizing its income by not selling all of its seats months in advance, but leaving many open to passengers who buy tickets closer to the flight at higher prices.
“We’re doing a great job of making sure there’s a lot of capacity that likely needs to be bought at higher prices,” Isom said. “We are able to reserve enough (seats) to ensure we are able to take advantage of close demand.”
tough summer to travel
Ironically, the service passengers who paid the most for were the worst ever.
Mann notes how over many years the service has deteriorated to the point where the airline industry is now almost self-serving.
“You do your reservations, you make your boarding passes. You do your fee purchases. You check in and you get your things on board,” he said. “Sometimes you get charged for doing all of these things, in addition to doing them yourself.”
In the best of times, the flight can go smoothly at least. But this summer, prepare for an even tougher ride.
Mann predicts that when aircrews reach federally permitted flying limits each month, possibly exacerbated by weather disruption or the COVID outbreak, airlines will not have enough reserve pilots to cover additional flights, as happened in Alaska.
“I can pretty much expect at the end of every calendar month, that the last four or five days are going to be very challenging operationally,” he said.
He added that although airlines have voluntarily cut their schedules, airline insiders with whom he spoke fear what lies ahead this summer.
“They don’t have confidence in being able to implement a reliable enough timetable that the system doesn’t melt away,” Mann said.
It’s going to be “a really tough summer for people to travel,” Hartfeldt agrees. When cancellations occur, it will be difficult to find open seats on other flights to rebook stranded passengers.
“All airlines are full or close to it,” he said. “If something goes wrong, there is simply less room to maneuver to restore the industry.”
“The travel industry is doing a lot to piss off travelers this summer. And it’s not just the airlines,” Hartfeldt added. “The hotels have reduced service. Car rental companies make reservations and then tell the people who show, ‘No, we don’t have a car for you.'”
After Labor Day
The reaction to the higher prices has already begun.
Hartfeldt said his contacts with airline reservations departments “are beginning to see a slight slowdown in booking speed.”
He said the $1,000 or $1,500 coast-to-coast ticket prices “are very popular with a lot of consumers, especially people who are traveling alone.”
Mann said airlines should be careful not to force a change in travel patterns that destroys existing demand.
“A lot of people will say ‘fuel prices are high, but if you ride in an SUV and even if you pay the toll and drive six or seven hours, it’s really not that bad,'” he said.
He said airlines will realize this sooner or later.
“They’ve been drinking their Kool-Aid for a while…so they keep charging these prices until people say no,” Mann said. Then they realize, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, we might have crossed our limits here. “
“Yes, there is an imbalance in supply and demand, but not to that extent,” he said. “We can’t raise people’s prices by 30, 40, 50% and not get a demand-destroying response.”
One glimmer of hope: It’s possible that airlines won’t be able to maintain high prices when the summer ends.
“When the economy sneezes, the travel industry catches a cold,” Hartfeldt said.
With consumers battered by inflation in nearly every spending sector and worried about a shaky economy, once booked vacations are already complete, leisure travel is likely to decline rapidly in the fall.
And while work travel is starting to return, it’s still far from where it was before the pandemic.
So Ferguson sees a difficult second half of the year for airline profitability amid lower demand that will drive ticket prices down again.
“The number of people willing to pay will drop significantly after Labor Day,” Ferguson said.


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US electric carmaker Tesla has said it has reached a deal to buy solar panel company SolarCity for $2.6bn (£2bn).
The deal, announced in June, will expand Tesla’s clean energy business.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk owns 22% of SolarCity and sits on the firm’s board. SolarCity’s chief executive Lyndon Rive and Mr Musk are cousins.
Under the deal, SolarCity has until 14 September to solicit offers from other potential buyers.


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San Francisco's about to get a brand new Taco Bell -- and it's going to serve booze. Taco Bell. Booze. Soon!
Taco Bell confirmed the new location, slated to open at the corner of 3rd and Townsend in SoMa, won't be your typical T-Bell, but will be among the first of the Crunchwrap-purveyor's urban-friendly concept restaurants, which offer beer, wine, and alcohol-spiked frozen drinks. In other words, you'll soon be able to enjoy Taco Bell while drinking instead of just after drinking and stumbling to the closest one. Hell yes!
"[A]s part of our expansion into new urban markets, we’re building a new Taco Bell concept and design in San Francisco," a Taco Bell spokesperson said via email. "The new restaurant will feature the same craveable, affordable, Mexican-inspired tastes at Taco Bell, along with a new line of appetizers, beer and wine."
Just last week, Taco Bell announced that its forthcoming Chicago restaurant would be the very first of its new, boozy and urban-friendly concept restaurants in the United States when it opens sometime this summer. At the time, Taco Bell said the fancy new location will have a unique urban design inspired by the neighborhood and even do away with its typical food wrappings in favor of serving up all those Chalupas and burritos in open-face baskets. Basically, the whole place will be more fast-casual than just fast.


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The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter as it buckled under the weight of unusually heavy snowfalls, a resurgent dollar and disruptions at West Coast ports, but activity already has rebounded modestly.
The US data centre business Equinix will spend �2.35bn snapping up its British rival Telecity in one of the biggest takeovers in the fast-growing cloud-based internet sector, which serves streaming services like Netflix and Spotify.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) will eliminate 5,000 jobs or 2% of its workforce next year as part of its initiatives to reduce costs and become more efficient, according to report from Wall Street Journal based on people familiar with the situation.
Britain's biggest steel strike in three decades is due to start after workers at Tata Steel voted 88pc in support of industrial action.
A sell-off in the closing minutes of trade sent the FTSE 100 sharply lower on Friday but AB Foods avoided the drop. Goldman Sachs backed AB's plan to launch its Primark chain in the US this September, with the clothing retailer seen as being ideally ...


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Google Translate says its service is improving more this year than in the last ten years combined, and that online travel sellers will start to see benefits as more accurate translations, translating sentences rather than individual words, will lead to more bookings.
One travel company using the new tech is Hostelworld, which allows users to pick a language, talk into their smartphone’s microphone, and then wait for words to be translated audibly and into text.
This advance is especially important in the so-called developing world, where fewer users read English or any one of the eight most popular languages in the world fluently, so much of the internet remains inaccessible. Google has now added 11 new widely used Indian languages to the 11 it already covered. Facebook and Microsoft are also working on translation platforms and apps, all charging for their services.


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Zakharova slams Latvia’s crusade against historical memory harmful to kids’ educationRussian Politics & Diplomacy October 27, 17:22
Russian diplomat rejects Kiev reports on armed police mission in DonbassRussian Politics & Diplomacy October 27, 17:07
Lavrov: Russian leaders need no one’s permission to visit CrimeaRussian Politics & Diplomacy October 27, 17:03
Vladimir Putin at Valdai Club session in Sochi: live streamRussian Politics & Diplomacy October 27, 16:36
NATO battalion at Russian border to get German tanks — defense ministryMilitary & Defense October 27, 16:31
Foreign Ministry offers consular assistance to Russian detained in PhilippinesRussian Politics & Diplomacy October 27, 16:08
Russian, Chinese, and Saudi physicists sharpen vision of photodetectorsScience & Space October 27, 16:02
Russian diplomat concerned over worsening situation in MosulRussian Politics & Diplomacy October 27, 15:57
Reasons for suspending plutonium deal with US not clear to 59% RussiansSociety & Culture October 27, 15:16
MOSCOW, September 15. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s retail chains, suppliers and producers have agreed to sign on September 16 a memorandum that would prevent unjustified food price hikes amid import bans, according to the draft obtained by ITAR-TASS on Monday.
Market players are planning to watch food prices, prevent unjustified reductions of supply and control quality.
“No one is saying that prices should not rise. But they should not rise unjustifiably,” Andrei Karpov, Executive Director of the Association of Retailers, told ITAR-TASS.
The memorandum will be signed by major Russian retailers such as Magnit, X5 Retail Group, Auchan, Dixi, and Metro, as well as leading food producers.
In late August, the federal government gave up plans to introduce state regulation of food prices during the food embargo.


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Nehemiah Thomas spent part of the day Saturday in his own virtual world along with his friends Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
The 8-year-old swayed, raised his arms and smiled as a virtual reality-based roller coaster took him through parts of the Toy Story world.
It was one of the first times the boy had tried the technology.
“It’s a new way for these kids to experience things,” said Standeline Thomas, Nehemiah’s mother. “With technology’s reach increasing, you want to expose them to it as early as possible. It’s a way they can learn about these things over time.”
The digital experience was part of Walt Disney World’s contribution to Otronicon, a four-day conference at the Orlando Science Center.
The building’s four floors were overrun by video games, vehicle simulators, actors dressed as Star Wars characters and robots.
Small video game-development firms and engineering companies took their place alongside industry giants including Lockheed Martin and The Walt Disney Company.
Events such as Otronicon can help encourage young people to pursue tech-based careers, said Kim Wheeler, a program planning manager for The Walt Disney Company.
“It’s important to inspire future engineers, mathematicians and scientists,” said Wheeler, who has an engineering degree. “There is no better way to do that than getting them into something they can relate to like toys and [Disney’s] iconic themes.”
Otronicon started in 2006, establishing itself quickly as one of the science center’s more popular annual events.
Initially, it featured motion-capture technology, digital art galleries and game play on the Xbox and PlayStation platforms.
This year, the show highlighted high-tech flight simulators, a small Mars escape room and a full-motion dome that carried riders through a rocky virtual world.
“One of the great things about it is the level of access we provide people to this technology,” said Jeff Stanford, director of marketing for the science center. “We want to spotlight the technological innovations happening here and show people what is happening.”
Central Florida’s video-game community showed off what it was building, too.
Theme Park Rangers
Angel Gonzalez of Grimpo Studios has been building his first game “Lethal Forces-Active Defense,” a side-scrolling fighting game.
“It’s a great opportunity for anybody to show off something people can interact with,” Gonzalez said.
Or, in some instructional sessions, they learn how to build those interactive experiences.
Mary Kerllenevich said she was surprised her 11-year-old son, Ben, chose Otronicon over a trip to Universal Studios for his birthday, especially because the family’s annual pass is set to expire this month.
However, considering Ben helps the family with computer problems, perhaps it should not have been.
Otronicon is “a way to interact with technology he can’t get anywhere else,” Kerllenevich said. “The programming is the one thing he can do independently of me. He’s basically our IT guy at the house.”
Got a news tip? firstname.lastname@example.org or 407-420-5256; Twitter, @marcosantana


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is reporting from
Demand for 'Twitter consultants' on the rise
vinshe82 | October 11, 2010 at 04:53 amby
126 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments
Demand for people with in-depth knowledge of social media platforms is on the rise, according to a new report.
Figures released by online business marketplace PeoplePerHour.com have revealed that job postings for people with such skills have increased by 300 per cent this year.
According to the organisation, the increased demand for the 'Twitter consultants' can be attributed to the recognition by a growing number of businesses of the important role that social media networks play in their success.


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Improvements in customer spending from the depths of the COVID-19 downturn helped to propel Bank of America to a nearly $4.9 billion profit during the third quarter, suggesting a faster recovery on the consumer side than on the commercial one as the bank continues to take a hit from low interest rates.
Largely driven by the consumer side rebound, the bank’s profit was up from the second quarter but still down compared to the third quarter of 2019. And there may be reason for even more optimism on the consumer side. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, who pointed out the spending rebound on an earnings call with analysts Wednesday, said that activity was actually up in September year over year.
“In the third quarter, we have seen a full restoration of spending by Bank of America customers when compared to last year,” Moynihan said. “Overall, the customer payment levels in September 2020 were larger than September 2019.”
Moynihan, who said that consumer spending heading into October was 10% ahead of the same period a year ago, also noted that the firm’s in-house economic projection shows a sizable gross domestic product rebound of around 30% for the third quarter, bringing total GDP closer to its pre-downturn amount.
Bank of America had a growth in accounts for consumer credit cards and auto loans, the CEO said, with mortgage activity holding up.
Overall for the third quarter, the bank reported a profit of around $4.88 billion, up about 38.15% from approximately $3.53 billion second quarter, due mainly to this recovery. However, profit was still down by about 15.51% from the nearly $5.88 billion reported the year before.
The bank reported that its earnings per share was $0.51, which missed Zacks’ estimate of $0.53. Additionally, it was up from $0.37 during the second quarter and below $0.56 from the same period last year.
Revenue was at nearly $20.34 billion, down by about 8.91% from the nearly $22.33 billion reported in the second quarter and 1.34% under Zacks’ estimate. Additionally, the third-quarter revenue figure was down by about 10.83% year over year from nearly $22.81 billion.
Nonetheless, Moynihan said that with the context considered, the results were strong.
“Overall, a solid performance given the operating backdrop we face,” he said.
Bank of America also set aside roughly $1.39 billion as its credit provision, a steep drop from about $5.18 billion for the second quarter, while still above $779 million for the third quarter of 2019. The provision included $972 million for overall net charge-offs and $417 million for a net reserve build. The bank attributed the build to the commercial side as travel and entertainment spending continue to be affected by COVID-19, while the consumer side had a net release as credit card balances fell.
In another sign of consumer-side strength, net charge-offs dropped significantly, going from $734 million during the second quarter to $564 million during the third quarter. The figure was also less than the $622 million reported in the third quarter of 2019.
Commercial net charge-offs, in contrast, dropped modestly from the second quarter, going from $412 million to $408 million, while remaining above the $189 million reported for the same period a year ago. Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio attributed the amount to an increase in losses in commercial real estate, naming malls as an example, although he added that commercial and industrial losses dropped.
Consumer debt deferrals have also fallen, executives said. Donofrio, citing credit cards as an example, said deferrals were more than $7 billion at the end of the second quarter but plummeted to about $400 million. Moynihan, who gave an overall remaining deferral figure of $9 billion, said that $7.5 billion was for mortgages, and noted that about 100,000 customers were involved in the program as of the end of September.
Meanwhile, a key metric for commercial debt, called reservable criticized utilized exposure, sharply increased compared to the second quarter, rising from $25.95 billion to $35.71 billion. Donofrio, who noted that the metric shows a significant impact from COVID-19, said that exposures to industries in airlines and hotels were the biggest drivers.
Donofrio said, however, that Bank of America’s commercial-side asset quality remains healthy overall.
“Overall, given the environment, the asset quality of our commercial book remains solid, with 88% of exposures, excluding small business, either investment grade or collateralized,” he said.
The CFO also said that the amount of commercial-side nonperforming loans was flat compared to the second quarter.
Bank of America also reported a continued decline in net interest income, which was $10.13 billion, down from $10.85 billion in the second quarter and from $12.19 billion a year ago. Donofrio said that net interest income is expected to improve, although he said this assumes that situations with interest rates and COVID-19 do not deteriorate further.
“Having said that, we believe Q3 will likely be the bottom for NII and we are optimistic it will move higher in 2021,” he said.
This improvement is expected, the CFO said, because commercial loan utilization levels and credit card spend, which are low, are likely to pick up. Donofrio also noted that the bank has been moving some of its cash and repos into securities.


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Platform for future models Mini could be developed in collaboration with specialists from PSA. Also, the third generation of the BMW 1-Series might have front-drive. The partnership between BMW and PSA group could be expanded from 1.6-liter supercharged engine to new platforms for small class cars.
The new platform will be used on future MINI range and could reach and also on the Citroen C3 and C4, and the next Peugeot 308 and 208. So, it is possible for BMW to launch a front-wheel-drive model in 2018. The model will be the third generation of the 1-Series and will share the first part of chassis with future MINI models.
>> Read full article


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Maternity brand Séraphine sales have soared by 40% since it was revealed Kate Middleton is a fan of their designs.
After donning one of their dresses on her first Royal outing since the birth of Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, Séraphine saw sales rocket further.
New mother Kate Middleton was photographed arriving at her parents’ home in Bucklebury wearing the £50 ($80) Blossom Knot Front Lavender Dress on Wednesday.
Demand for the dress has been so high that the site has now stated that orders will not be shipped for at least another month.
This isn’t the first time that Kate Middleton has worked her magic on Séraphine’s sales.
Sales of one item, the £39 ($60) Brooke dress, quadrupled after Kate Middleton was reported to have taken a fancy to it when she was shopping in Sloane Square, according to founder Cecile Reinaud.
Total sales are up 40% since March, when Kate Middleton was linked with the brand.
Kate Middleton has been a fan of Séraphine throughout her pregnancy, ordering over a dozen designs from the brand; who have two West London boutiques, one of which is conveniently located on Kensington Church Street, near Kensington Palace.
Séraphine has four London outlets and sells through the internet to more than 30 countries.
Cecile Reinaud said: “The Kate effect is worldwide. From China, Russia to South Africa, sales are boosted due to the fact she chose our brand to dress her royal bump.”
Séraphine reported a turnover of £5.2 million ($8 million) in the year ending March 2013 and Cecile Reinaud expects turnover for 2014 to reach £8 million ($12 million).
Séraphine prides itself on offering unrivalled wardrobe solutions for pregnant women, available in their London boutiques and at selected Peter Jones and John Lewis stores, and online through their international websites.
Created by Cecile Reinaud, Séraphine’s collections hope to exude effortless Parisian chic, and have earned the brand an A-list following including Angelina Jolie, January Jones, Claudia Schiffer, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner and Kate Hudson.


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Resident Evil 8 Release Could Be Foiled By COVID-19 According To Capcom Fiscal Report
As the months drag on, so do the announcements of games being pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies are waffling between indefinite delays and potentially disastrous digital releases. It’s a shitty situation. However, we should also be aware that it’s not just the newest upcoming games that will be affected by the outbreak. Games are in development for years. Almost everyone is working from home at the moment. Most of the impact of the pandemic will be felt for months, maybe even years down the line. It’s a sobering reality, and one that many major companies are now having to publicly face.
The story today comes from the recently released 2019 Capcom Financial Results report. The financial year for Capcom ends in March 31st, 2020, meaning most of the results are from their pre-pandemic business. However, the report does touch on Capcom’s efforts to maintain operation while weighing employee safety in light of the pandemic. In the section of their report titled, “Business continuity planning,” the report had this to say:
Further, accompanying the state of emergency that was declared in Japan due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, there are some concerns regarding the impact on the Arcade Operations and Amusement Equipments businesses, as well as on content production through work-from-home. Among these, in addition to anticipating a decrease in revenue due to temporary closures of stores in the Arcade Operations business, it will be necessary to closely monitor any decline in demand in the Amusement Equipments business as well following voluntary suspension of operations on the part of the hall operators. Meanwhile, the Company will revise its development process for content production, concentrating its ingenuity and knowhow to minimize any adverse impact.
Nonetheless, the core Digital Contents business can be expected to continue to contribute results even in a situation where retail stores around the world have temporarily suspended operations because the
Company has successfully advanced digital sales.
The statement itself isn’t that shocking. It’s also worth noting that the report as a whole stated that they are shifting their focus to more heavily support digital sales. This comes from sales figures pre-COVID-19, and the report does an extensive breakdown as to why they believe this is the direction the company should go in. In short, the numbers were already pointing in the direction of digital sales over physical media. The pandemic is just pushing that along.
Then there’s that line about concerns, “on content production through work-from-home.” Unfortunately, the text report itself doesn’t go into a lot of detail on that front. There’s a quick line about, “revis[ing] the development process,” but that’s about it. Fortunately, the report is also paired with a press conference. Please note that the presentation is only in Japanese. I do not speak Japanese. I am heavily relying on Japanese media sources’ translations for this next part. I’ve verified the gist of the presentation with several Japanese outlets, but the ultimate source for these quotes is this post on 4gamer.net. To quote their translated report:
The impact of the declaration of an emergency due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection on Capcom’s business was explained at the end of the earnings announcement. According to Kenkichi Nomura, who is the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Capcom, the company is currently shifting employees to work from home or to wait at home, which reduces their strength in the core game development business. It is said that it is in the state of doing.
In addition, even if the emergency declaration is lifted, it will take some time to return to full operation considering the risk of infection, which will affect the development of large titles scheduled for release in the fiscal year ending March 2021. May affect. There are multiple planned titles, and all of them are scheduled to be released in the second half of the year, so they will aim to release them as planned by reviewing each development process.
So, good news and bad news from that announcement. The good news is that Capcom is planning to release several large titles in the upcoming year. All of them planned to be released in the second half of the fiscal year. Given recent rumors surrounding the release of a Resident Evil 4 remake and Resident Evil 8, chances are that they fall into this category. The bad news is that the pandemic is already effecting development. As Kenkichi Nomura so mildly put it, employees are either working from home or, “wait[ing] at home.” That means furloughed. As time goes by, the chances that these titles will be able to reach their previously set dates is unlikely. While he does state that they will, “aim to release them as planned,” it’s worth weighing the likeliness of this optimism against the facts. He wouldn’t be the first head of a major company (or country) to try to present an optimistic view of the months to come despite evidence to the contrary.
The big takeaway from the article is this: while we will still see Resident Evil 8 announced in the future (if it exists, which it probably does), it might not be as soon as we all hoped. Given the fact that the game hasn’t even been officially announced, Capcom is under no obligation to upset fans by letting them know there will be a delay. Of course, the nightmare scenario is that it gets silently cancelled due to budgetary constraints. Budget is generally set at the start of a project, and the longer it goes the more expensive it is to make. Even furloughing workers has a ton of cost, as they might seek new employment and hiring replacements is a financial drain. And while Capcom is certainly doing their best to shift to a work-from-home model, there’s no telling how smooth this transition has been or at what capacity they are operating.
While I certainly hope to hear a lot more about Resident Evil 8 soon, fans should be prepared for delays. Even if they announced it tomorrow, chances are the pandemic would still force a prolonged release. That’s just how it is. No one wants this to be happening. And as a fan myself, I’d rather Capcom take the time to make the best product possible than force the product to be launched in time for the next fiscal report.


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Small dealership now largest independent in British Columbia.
In 1990, Phil Dagger couldn’t resist the opportunity to buy a small used car dealership in Victoria, and borrowed $10,000 from his mother to buy inventory.
Thirty-one years later, that used car dealership – Galaxy Motors – has grown to eight locations, and is the largest independent dealership in British Columbia. There are five stores dealing with automotive, two that sell recreational vehicles (RVs), and another which services RVs. Galaxy is spread out along the island, with stores in West Shore, Courtney, Parksville, Nanaimo, Duncan and Victoria.
“He was an entrepreneur and loved buying land,” reminisces Dagger’s niece, Amy Jones, now the chief administrative officer (CAO) at Galax y. Sadly, Dagger passed away last year, so Jones and her older brother Mark, along with several talented staff, now run the business.
Galaxy was one of the first dealerships to offer sub-prime financing, which figured in its success. Always in step with the times, their current inventory includes a 2019 Toyota Mirai, as well as hybrids and EVs. “Many people in British Columbia and especially on the island and gulf islands are very conscious of the environment,” describes Jones. Their biggest inventory challenge is keeping enough eco-friendly vehicles in stock.
It was Dagger’s idea to move into the RV market, which has been thriving. “We started out with just sales, and moved into servicing. “With the pandemic restricting travel, people are staying local, so they’re trying RVing,” says Jones. Occasionally, there’s even some cross-over, where someone will purchase a vehicle as well as an RV. “Everything can be financed under one roof.”
Dealing with supply chain shortages has been a challenge, as it has been for many other stores. Galaxy has its own in-house buyers, and work with wholesalers, auctions, trade-ins and buy off the street. “We’re finding different sources, and team up with other local online marketplaces,” explains Jones.
The used car market has gone through many changes in recent years. Since OEMs are unable to take orders, or the orders take so long, many consumers who wouldn’t have considered a used car are taking that route, because they don’t want to wait. There’s more pressure to buy and decision making has become time senstive.
Cars are in high demand, so there’s more money to be made with less bartering. “People can’t just go to the franchise dealer down the street to buy a car,” notes Jones. “If they want a new-to-them car, if we have it, it may be the only one on the island. And it might be gone by tomorrow or even today.” Sometimes, Galaxy will attract consumers from Vancouver, who are willing to take the ferry and make the trip because they want a certain vehicle.
Among Galaxy’s hottest sellers are trucks, and work vans like the Transit. “Those are tough to find, and something you just can’t buy from OEMs right now. And if you can, you’re waiting two years. People aren’t willing to hold up their business to buy a vehicle.”
She doesn’t believe the inventory crunch will ease soon, as much depends on the chip shortage, which has been predicted to continue until 2024. Many of Galaxy’s vehicles come from franchise dealers, who were mandated to sell their vehicles at 90 days. Since the franchise dealers no longer have that mandate, it has also impacted the inventory situation. Jones hopes the change will come sooner rather than later, but believes the industry is about a year and a half away from returning to normal.
One of the other issues has been with staffing, and Galaxy has had to rise to the challenge. “Before it was more of an employer’s market, now it’s an employee’s market,” describes Jones. When fast food markets are offering two or three dollars above minimum wage, it’s important to be competitive. “You have to be aware of what other people are offering, to look attractive to potential employees.”
Following in her uncle’s footsteps, Jones keeps the stores involved in the community, doing food drives for the Goldstream Food Bank, sponsoring minor sports teams and other charities. A “Galaxy Giving Back” event is held every month, where a local charity is provided with a financial support or event. Staff have also helped at a soup kitchen, serving lunch, and many initiatives. “These are not only good for our community, but also help with team building,” says Jones.
“It was always important for us to give back. My uncle was very humble and knew he was blessed, never forgot where he came from.”


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The vegan diet may be touted as a healthy alternative to animal products like meat, eggs, and dairy, but more and more research is coming out to show that a meatless diet isn't exactly the best thing for health and longevity. After Robert Downey, Jr. switched to a vegan diet, fans couldn't help but notice that he looks sick, emaciated, and not at all like himself. There are also many stories of transformation featuring everyday women or celebrities, like Miley Cyrus, who used to be plant-based and end up feeling and looking much better after they switched back to eating meat. It turns out there is research from Brazil confirming their experience.
Vegetarian Diet Linked to Depressive Episodes in Adults, Per New Study
More than 14,000 Brazilians between the ages 35 and 74 participated in a study that tracked their diet and their experience with depressive episodes. Researchers used something called the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R) to assess these depressive episodes. The results were adjusted for variables including socioeconomic status, smoking and drinking alcohol, frequency of exercise, body mass index (BMI), nutrient intake, energy intake, and any changes in the diet in the 6 months leading up to the study.
Even with all of these variables accounted for, research found a "positive association between the prevalence of depressive episodes and a meatless diet." Individuals who abstained from meat experienced roughly twice as many depressive episodes compared to the people who ate meat regularly. This was independent of "socioeconomic and lifestyle factors." The study also found that "nutrient deficiencies do not explain this association" and the "nature of the association remains unclear."
It's estimated that roughly 4.5% of the world's population suffers from depression, but Brazil has a higher amount of people who struggle with clinical depression. About 11.5 million people in Brazil are depressed, which comes out to about 6%. According to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), there were 172 million cases of depression in 1990 around the world, and that number rose to 258. million in 2017, which shows a 50% increase.
Of course there are many factors that are at play when it comes to rates of depression, but diet certainly has a role in the equation. The study also references previous research showing that a vegetarian diet increased rates of anxiety and depression in Chinese students attending university, and another study found that men who ate a vegetarian diet had higher depression scores than those who ate meat. There still needs to be more research done, but much of the data points to a correlation between mental health issues and the vegan diet.
This isn't to say that everyone who eats a vegetarian diet will automatically experience depression, but it's a correlation that is worth exploring and discussing. Public health organizations and government officials have been pushing the vegan diet for some time now, telling us that it's much better for the environment to abstain from meat, butter, and eggs. Furthermore, we've been told that it's better for our health to be vegetarian or vegan. But we know that we've been lied to by health organizations about the supposed danger of saturated fat and its connection to heart disease. This turned out to be a fabrication that was promoted and pushed by junk-food corporations such as Procter & Gamble in order to encourage the manufacture and sale of their vegetable oils, which were falsely advertised as heart-healthy.
It's certainly not crazy to be skeptical of pretty much any health and nutrition information that is peddled by the federal government and corporations that profit off of selling packaged and processed foods and fake meats, as these are the recommended replacements for meat and eggs. As more and more research comes out to show a strong connection between veganism and mental illness, it's only responsible to at least consider how much better high-quality, grass-fed meat is for our overall health and wellness.


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Online casino India is one of the most prominent and rapidly rising sectors of the Indian digital economy, boasting a size of $2 billion and growing with astounding rates exceeding 28 percent annually. PM Narendra Modi’s government is showing its support by real actions and at the same time is voicing its high expectations for the sector to contribute greatly to the country’s prosperity and expand on the global market with “Made in India” games.
With a user base exceeding 400 million gamers, the sector consisting of more than 800 companies, already including among their ranks 3 unicorns, is still at its nascent stage of development and can use the incoming support from the government to realise its full potential.
Following the introduction of the last Union Budget, the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics) Task Force was established with the aim to promote the online gaming and related sectors.
Subsequently, the government set up an inter-ministerial panel mandated to study global best practices, consult experts and stakeholders, and draw up recommendations for implementing enabling policies focused on ease of doing business and player protection.
Looking at these facts, having great expectations for the Online gaming industry’s continued economic boost, attraction of massive fresh investments far exceeding the $1.6 billion in FDI roped in within the last 20 months, and substantial creation of high-level jobs, seem more than justified.
Govt’s Tax Arm Seems Eager to Deliver a Devastating Blow
Expectations by the tax authorities to collect increasingly enormous contributions from such a rapidly growing industry would also have been well grounded if their sheer scale had not, quite unfortunately, lost touch with reality.
It seems the tax arm of the government has either mistaken the number of zeros to the amounts it intends to collect in tax contributions from the otherwise burgeoning online gaming industry, or has by some inexplicable by normal logic reason decided to deliver a devastating blow to the sector and relieve it from its pains for good.
The Group of Ministers (GoM) tasked with recommending updates to GST policy over casinos, horse races and online gaming suggested equalising skill gaming levy to the one over gambling, i.e. clubbing together an online fantasy sports league played on a skill gaming platform to an Online casino India game played in a casino under the 28 percent GST rate slab applicable to the full face value of tickets or contest entry fees.
Currently, skill gaming platforms are paying 18 percent GST over their gross gaming revenue (GGR) or trade margin, and prize pools are subject only to players’ income tax, but not GST.
This is consistent with global practice and with the provisions of the Union Constitution, the existing GST legislation, and six decades of established court practice, and the business model of online skill gaming companies is built around this principle.
Charging GST over a game of skill with the same rate and valuation rules normally applicable to a Online casino game would mean a hike of the effective tax burden of 1,100 percent and cannot be expected to be sustainable. Such a development would either take the companies out of the business, or force them to move operations abroad to the black market.
As a whole, the online gaming sector in India is suffering from a profound lack of proper regulations and is forced to exist in a legal landscape dotted with gaps, grey areas, ambiguity and contradictions.
This confusion results in constant rapid shifts of policy suggestions and implementations, and regulatory and taxation uncertainty, which at times threatens not only the further growth, but the actual survival of the country’s gaming industry.
In view of the sector’s enormous potential and the high expectations vested in it, the central government bears a responsibility to develop a sensible and robust regulatory framework capable of ensuring a sustainable business climate, as well as a safe gaming environment.


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HP hunts for printer consultants
The very image of success
HP is putting its mouth where its money is by offering 2,300 of its key account customers a printer consultancy service.
Bruce Dahlgren, senior vice president of worldwide enterprise sales for HP's imaging and printing group, said the company will officially launch the service next year and is currently hiring account managers and technical, services and business process consultants.
He says the move is to help the key accounts to consolidate their current printer investments by working out where to use standard printers and where to position multifunction printers (MFPs) across their enterprises.
The service will be an ongoing partnership to help these customers tackle the difficult challenge of producing efficient document workflows. It will also use HP's network of business partners to help create a closer relationship with the customers and try to define ready-made policies within vertical market segments, such as the public sector, healthcare and financial organisations.
Dahlgren says the service will not only cover the deployment of products from HP's range of over 200 imaging products, but will also embrace competitive products from other manufacturers. Despite this, the core competencies of the consulting teams will align with HP's products and services.
He added that he is not just seeking to lure employees from other printer makers, but wants people from outside the printing world to gain fresh insights into the relationship imaging products have with workflows, networks, and server deployments.
HP feels the company needs to develop a closer relationship with its enterprise accounts to shape and customise future imaging products. What Dahlgren did not cover was the fact that HP has only taken two per cent of the copier market despite its large push into this area over past few years.
Photocopier manufacturers have converged with the printer market as laser and inkjet MFPs have increased their speeds and versatility to almost obliterate the photocopier market. Winners in the field tend to be companies like Canon which has established itself as a photocopier and printer supplier prior to the convergence.
HP's task is to dislodge the loyal customers and win them over to its own technologies. Consultancy will provide a platform for this. Dahlgren says he initial service will be expanded to smaller account holders over time. ®


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Ban The Boog!
Good news for people who like good news.
Steps are beginning to be taken to address the heinous problem of cheap, easily damaged and destroyed styofoam bodyboards that end up clogging up landfill or clogging up the insides of marine animals.
The promised land of bodyboarding that is the Ol’ Blighty with it’s nice and safe wave pools and endless supply of abundant sponsorship just got even better last month. Cornwall council teamed up with the “Keep Brittany Tidy” organisation to install purpose built bins on a number of beaches around the Newquay area to provide a place for people to dispose of their decrepit, cheap arsed boogers after a single use of fun at the beach.
The bins, constructed from recycled wooden crates encourage beach users to deposit their ” old / broken bodyboarder here”, promising to recycle the dead shred sleds.
In Croyde, north Devon, more than 400 boards were discarded on the beach in 2020 and in Newquay beach rangers estimate 20 boards are thrown away every day in the holiday season.
It has been reported that more than 16,000 cheap polystyrene bodyboards are discarded on UK beaches every year.
Neil Hembrow of Keep Britain Tidy said polystyrene bodyboards were “like a tidal wave of waste washed up on beaches“.
He continues: “But a culture change is happening, we are now seeing moves by communities to stop the use of these polystyrene boards and if the pressure grows then hopefully we can get a complete ban.”
Meanwhile in the Hawaiian islands, Maui County council is also looking to enact a ban all together on the sale or rental of these cheap polystyrene bastards.
Former Ocean Safety Lieutenant turned councillor Tamara Paltin, described how she and her team members would, “find all of these disposable styrofoam boogies in half on the beach and we’d go and pick them up and you couldn’t really throw them away because the rubbish can was overflowing with boogie boards” while patrolling the beaches of Maui.
So it seems that the sun may be setting on the age of cheap and nasty EPS or styrofoam boogies. Whilst not only welcome news on the environment front, it could also have a positive affect on the bodyboarding industry as a whole.
In an article your author wrote for Movement mag in 2019, the impact that the rise of these cheap nasties have had on the bodyboarding industry was layed out by master shaper Nick “Mez” Mestritz.
“In the boom of the 90’s at a calculated guess I would estimate a maximum of 100,000 boards were being sold in Australia each year. In 2019 I estimate somewhere upwards of 200,000 boards are now sold in Australia. So, In terms of actual sales volume, there are double the amount of bodyboards sold today.”
Mez continues “However, of the 100,000 boards sold during the 90s, 95% of them were made by bodyboard companies and sold into traditional surf stores with an average sale price of AUD$200. Do the math on that and you find that bodyboard sales were generating $20,000,000 per annum”.
“This meant that everyone was making money, the board brands, the wholesalers and the stores. It also meant there was enough profit for the brands to sponsor riders, contest and to advertise in magazines.”
“But, perhaps most tellingly in our modern, globalized world, it is the rise of cheap, easily manufactured boards, sold through sporting and department stores, that are impacting most greatly”
Mez says “In 2019, of the 200k boards sold in Australia, 170k are low cost EPS boards sold in department stores or sports stores with an avg sales price of $50. While this still generates sales of $8.5 million, the margin on these types of boards is minuscule and not one cent goes back to the sport or any legitimate bodyboard brands”.
This has had a huge impact on the financial viability of the “high performance” bodyboarding industry.
Mez lays out the maths “That leaves roughly 30k high performance boards being sold by 12 bodyboard companies, with at least 50% of these also being low cost, low profit margin EPS boards”.
“At the end of the day there’s very little money left over for advertising, riders or contests.”
So the banning on the sale of these Styrofoam environmental disasters could help breath new life into the bodyboard industry by requiring people to once again purchase quantity, long lasting boogs from core bodyboard brands in order to get their gutsliding fix.
More as the story develops….


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New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Smallcap World Fund Inc on Monday offloaded shares worth a little over Rs 222 crore in Aarti Industries Ltd through open market transactions on exchanges.
On the BSE, Smallcap World Fund sold 10 lakh shares of Aarti Industries at a price of Rs 855 apiece, taking the total deal value to Rs 85.5 crore, bulk deal data showed.
As per bulk deal data on the NSE, nearly 16 lakh shares of Aarti Industries were sold by Smallcap World Fund at Rs 854.71 per scrip, valuing the transaction at Rs 136.57 crore.
As per the shareholding pattern of Aarti Industries for March 2020 quarter, Smallcap World Fund is a public shareholder in the firm and held 1.71 per cent stake.
Shares of Aarti Industries on Monday closed 5.63 per cent lower at Rs 866.5 on the BSE, while on the NSE it declined 4.26 per cent to close at Rs 878.9 per share.


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Jeff Bezos’ net worth passes $200 billion milestone
The world’s wealthiest man has hit an unbelievable new milestone by becoming the first person ever to surpass the $200 billion mark.
The world’s wealthiest billionaire Jeff Bezos is even richer as the Amazon founder and CEO’s wealth topped $200 billion for the first time – the biggest fortune seen in history.
This is the first time that a net worth has amassed above $200 billion in the almost four decades that Forbes has been tracking the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest.
With a net worth that has quickly grown to $204.6 billion, the 56-year-old tech entrepreneur is currently almost $90 billion richer than Microsoft’s Bill Gates.
Mr Bezos’ wealth surpasses Mr Gates who comes in at the world’s second richest, worth approximately $116 billion.
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Even when Mr Gates’ net worth topped $100 billion in Microsoft’s peak in 1999 at the height of the dotcom bubble, Forbes believes that Mr Bezos’ fortune is still the largest ever accumulated, even when adjusting for inflation.
Amazon’s stock is up nearly 80 per cent since the beginning of the year, fuelled by changing conditions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Bezos’ net worth has almost doubled since the start of the year, when it was roughly $115 billion in January, as online shipping surged during the coronavirus lockdown.
He is one of the world’s five richest people who hasn’t lost money this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Esquire.
The e-commerce giant’s sales topped $US75 billion ($A116 billion) in the first quarter, driven by spiking demand during the pandemic that has kept people at home and relying on at-home delivery services, according to Marketwatch.
Mr Bezos’ 11 per cent stake in Amazon makes up more than 90 per cent of his fortune, but he also owns The Washington Post, aerospace company Blue Origin and other private investments.
His personal fortune eclipses major global companies including McDonald’s, Nike and oil giant Exxon.
He’d be even richer if it wasn’t for his divorce from ex-wife MacKenzie Scott last year, which was the most expensive divorce settlement in history. Part of the settlement included a 25 per cent stake in Amazon ownership, a chunk of stock now worth $US63 billion.
Ms Scott is currently the world’s 14th-richest person and second-richest woman, behind L’Oreal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, even after she donated $1.7 billion to charity this year.
Mr Bezos is on track to becoming the world’s first trillionaire as he bankrolls during the height of the tech boom. Research suggests he could achieve that feat by 2026, according to a Comparisun study.
If his net worth does reach $1 trillion ($A1.55 trillion), he’d be worth more than the individual GDPs of 179 countries with a combined population of 3.4 billion – 43.7 per cent of all humans alive, the outlet reported.
Facebook’s co-founder Mark Zuckerberg also joins the tech centibillionaire bubble, with a net worth of $103.1 billion. At his current growth rate, the social media tsar will join the exclusive trillionaire club in 2036 at the age of 51.


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Slacker Radio Announces Availability on Roku
Slacker Radio Brings 200+ DJ-Curated Stations, Custom ABC News, ESPN Radio and More to Roku
Slacker, Inc. today announced the launch of Slacker Radio on Roku, the leading streaming platform in the U.S. Slacker Radio listeners in the U.S. and Canada can now enjoy the personal radio service on Roku’s popular streaming players.
The Slacker Radio lineup includes more than 200 expert-curated music stations, personalized ESPN Radio and ABC News stations, comedy programming, custom artist-hosted showcase stations and leading music festival stations. With a music catalog that is more than 10 times larger than the leading radio competitor, Slacker Radio offers more personalized content than any other radio service.
“We want to give our listeners access to Slacker wherever they happen to be, and launching on the Roku platform is a big step forward for us in the connected home,” said Jonathan Sasse, senior vice president of marketing at Slacker. “We are excited to deliver Slacker Radio as a free service for Roku owners, effective immediately.”
“Slacker Radio brings an impressive selection of Internet radio programming to Roku and we expect it to quickly become a customer favorite,” said Ed Lee, vice president of business development at Roku. “Customers can find and add the Slacker Radio channel from the Roku Channel Store starting today.”
Delivering entertainment to millions of customers, Roku streaming players are affordable, are easy to use, and feature more than 500 channels of entertainment.
In addition to Roku, Slacker Radio is available for listening on the web, on all major smartphones including iPhone, Android and BlackBerry, the iPad, Ford vehicles with SYNC AppLink and more. To get the free Slacker mobile application, simply direct your mobile web browser tohttp://www.Slacker.com.
About Slacker, Inc.
Slacker offers the world’s most complete range of radio services, from millions of songs to custom content from ESPN Radio, ABC News and much more. Whether it’s the award-winning free Slacker Basic Radio, the fully-loaded Slacker Radio Plus, or Slacker Premium offering on-demand access to Slacker’s music catalog, listeners enjoy a unique, custom listening experience. Slacker enables music lovers to play highly personalized music online at the Slacker web site, in Ford vehicles with SYNC AppLink, on connected home devices or on-the-go with free Slacker Personal Radio applications. Slacker mobile applications are available for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry smartphones and more. For additional information visit:http://www.Slacker.com/about.
For regular Slacker updates follow Slacker atwww.Twitter.com/SlackerRadio, become a Fan on Facebook atwww.Facebook.com/SlackerRadio, watch Slacker video content atwww.YouTube.com/Slacker or visitwww.Slacker.com.


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Images via New Balance New Balance continues to unveil new treats as they add to their custom options. Next up, the brand brings the custom good to one of its best silhouettes, the Made in USA 998.
Beginning June 8, the New Balance 998 will be available for customization via the brand's NB1 platform. Prices will range from $200-210 and will allow for up to 16 different areas to personalize. Mesh, suede, and reflective textiles will be among the first materials to choose from, while herringbone, nubuck, and Horween leather will be added seasonally.
To celebrate the launch, New Balance enlisted a handful of "influencers" — including Adrianne Ho, Aimee Song, Dan Trepanier, and Lou Delcy — to create their very own styles. Check them out below and look out for the 998 customs to launch next week.


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JPMorgan has a 'neutral' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 6,890 per share. It says that despite the fact that the company has beat the first-quarter expectations, its cost pressures are very high. Here's what other brokerages have to say on UltraTech Cement's stock and Q1 earnings:
The shares of UltraTech Cement touched a 52-week high of Rs 7,630 on Friday morning, a day after the cement-maker reported its first-quarter results.
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UltraTech Cement reported a sharp 114 percent jump in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June 2021 at Rs 1,700 crore. It had reported a profit of Rs 794.2 crore in the subsequent quarter of the previous fiscal.
UltraTech is the largest cement-maker in India with a domestic capacity of 111.4 metric tonnes. This is 23 percent of the total market, giving it a leadership position in most regions.
Its revenues also jumped 54.2 percent to Rs 11,830 crore as against Rs 7,671.1 crore, YoY. It reported a growth of 47 percent in its sales volume that grew to 20.53 million tonnes.
The net profit of the company beat the CNBC-TV18 analysts' poll estimates of Rs 1,428 crore. But its revenue was slightly lower than what analysts had estimated (Rs 11,980 crore).
The company's EBITDA increased nearly 60 percent to Rs 3,307.5 crore from Rs 2,077.7 crore. Its EBITDA margin also improved by 88 basis points to 27.96 percent (from 27.08 percent, YoY). Its capacity utilization also improved to 73 percent, as compared to the 46 percent a year ago.
Here's what brokerages have to say on UltraTech Cement's stock and Q1 earnings:
JPMorgan has a 'neutral' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 6,890 per share. It says that despite the fact that the company has beat the first-quarter expectations, its cost pressures are very high.
The second half of the financial year needs large hikes for positive surprises, the brokerage added.
"Market leadership, strong brand with highest retail presence and robust balance sheet justify UltraTech's premium valuation," ICICI Direct said in a report.
We are positive on the company, it said, majorly because of its target to become net debt-free by FY23E and expected ROCE of 17 percent-plus.
ICICI Direct has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 8,700.
Macquarie has a 'outperform' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 8,542 per share on the backs of its expansion projects. The brokerage expects the company to give an industry-leading growth over FY21-24.
It said that the sustained cost improvement and balance sheet deleveraging will support the earnings and valuations of the company.
HDFC Securities also has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a higher target price of Rs 8,155 on the backs of the company's best-ever consolidated EBITDA margin.
Amidst lower QoQ sales due to the impact of lockdown, robust pricing, and health cost controls moderated its consolidated net sales and EBITDA decline to 18 and 10 percent QoQ, resulting in a rise of 54 and 59 percent YoY on a low base.
"We continue to like UltraTech for its strong volume focus along with superior margin delivery and working capital (WC) controls," the brokerage said.
UltraTech has beat our volumes/EBITDA estimates by 11.8 and 40.6 percent on a YoY basis, which was driven by lower clinker cost and higher than expected net realisations, Yes Securities said.
The brokerage has upgraded its EBITDA estimated by 12.6 and 13.5 percent for FY22E and FY23E, respectively. It has done so on the backs of realigning raw material, fuel, and transportation costs which it had estimated higher. It has also taken into account the better pricing outlook as compared to its previous expectations.
Currently, UltraTech is trading 14.2 times the forward estimates of its FY23 earnings, it said. "On the backs of higher demand outlook and better than expected profitability we assigned 16x FY23E EV/EBITDA which translates in a price target of Rs 8,600 per share with potential upside," the brokerage said.
Yes Bank has a 'buy' rating on the stock, with a target price of Rs 8,600.
The brokerage has a 'outperform' call on the stock and it has raised the target price to Rs 8,000 from Rs 7,735. It said that while its profit numbers exceeded expectations and the EBITDA is 15 percent higher than expectations, cost inflation may impact UltraTech's earnings.
The company's EBITDA/tonne increased 17 percent QoQ, above our estimates due to lower costs, but we expect profitability to taper down, the brokerage said.
The company is likely to turn net cash positive by FY24 and its risk-reward ratio is fair at its current valuation, it said.
(Edited by : Anshul)


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The founder of a business is key to its launch – and sometimes, key to its downfall as well. This is how to combat founder syndrome and future-proof your business.
From day one, it’s a small-business founder’s vision, passion and focus that bring the operation to life. Over time, though, that same founder can suffocate the business.
There’s a name for it: “founder syndrome”. It describes what can happen when a founder, who may be suffering burnout, tunnel vision or is simply illsuited to managing the growth phase, refuses to let go of the reins.
By some estimates as many as 70 per cent of small and medium businesses fail to survive the transition from founder to the next generation of leader – often because they took the step too late or it was forced upon them when the business started to decline.
Jochen Schweitzer, associate professor of strategy and innovation and director of entrepreneurship at UTS Business School, says founder syndrome manifests when “the founder gets out of their depth”. Some founders may be able to educate themselves to deal with business issues that arise, learn how to manage a team that’s grown from 15 to 150 and gear up for expansion – but not all can.
“Founders need to ask, ‘Am I the right person to do this?’” says Schweitzer. “Not asking is the reason why a lot of the SMBs in Australia are not growing – because people work so much in the business and don’t have the time to step back and think strategically.”
Bootstrapped businesses in particular tend to rely on the founder having the self-awareness to create their own feedback cycles and know when it’s time to go. Aaron Smith, the founder of KX Pilates, knew he needed to shift gears after two years of “absolute grind”.
The first executive he appointed to help lead the company wasn’t a good cultural fit so Smith named Selina Bridge as chief executive in 2018.
“Selina thinks about things completely differently – there are so many times that we butt heads,” he says. “She is one side of the spectrum, I’m very much on the other and we seem to meet in the middle and get fantastic results.”
Since Bridge took over as CEO, KX Pilates has grown from 50 to 78 studios in Australia, with another one in Indonesia and a further 11 in China through a joint venture. For his part, Smith remains as a director and focuses on innovation and international expansion, as well as his young family.
Handing over the reins has proven successful – while also coming with some cost, Smith acknowledges. “As a founder you’re extremely emotionally attached to your business; someone with expertise looks at it more through the business lens. The hardest part is losing control.”
Step by step
The Chicago-based Kellogg School of Management suggests five steps to help avoid founder syndrome.
- Start with a contingency succession plan: the “hit-by-a-bus” strategy.
- Transition to “purposeful” succession planning and training for future leadership.
- Document the plans and make any legal or administrative changes that are required.
- Remember: planning for change is important to avoid stagnation.
- Trust in the process.


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Nike Reveal Limited Edition EA Sports Mercurial Superfly
Real life now mirrors video sports games — Nike’s newest cleat captures the evolution of virtual gaming hitting the pitch. How incredibly popular is EA’s virtual soccer game? What soccer loving household do you know that doesn’t play FIFA? And, if you want these cleats, get them quickly. There is a limited, numbered edition.
numbNike has revealed its latest Mercurial Superfly in partnership with the launch of FIFA 17 by EA SPORTS. The boot highlights the progression from the 16-bit to today’s high definition graphics in a limited edition version that will be available for purchase on September 26th.
Soccer News: In conjunction with the latest launch of FIFA 17 by EA SPORTS, Nike has collaborated on a limited edition Mercurial Superfly that highlights the progression from the 16-bit graphics of ‘94 to today’s high definition output.
In 1994, EA SPORTS’ soccer video game transformed the way players connect with over 3 million people around the world now playing per day. With the game and its graphics having evolved over the years, its popularity has reached across the globe where all players can compete.
“This collaboration came together rather organically,” says Nathan Van Hook, Senior Design Director for Nike Football. “Our design team spends a lot of our free time playing football – both on the pitch and via video game – we’re pretty obsessed with both. We wanted to create something memorable that brings together the physical and virtual worlds.”
The inner side of the boot consists of a pixelated 16-bit graphic that transitions to high-definition on the outer side. The EA SPORTS logo appears on the sockliner, lace and heel. Nike also designed a special Mercurial logo for the boot and its accompanying shoebox and bag.
With only 1,500 pairs made, each boot is individually numbered on the heel. Just look at the vertical numbering!
In FIFA 17, the boot will become available on September 22nd in the EA SPORTS Football Club Catalog (unlocked at level 7).
The limited edition Mercurial x EA SPORTS boots will be available for purchase on September 26th on Nike’s website and the Nike Football App.


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Crypto Exchange MEXC Partners with Metacade to Increase Reach and Credibility
• Metacade has signed a strategic partnership agreement with MEXC, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges.
• This agreement will enable the GameFi platform to expand its reach to brand-new investors across the world.
• Additionally, investors will be able to purchase MCADE on a range of decentralized exchanges, including Uniswap.
MEXC and Metacade Sign Strategic Partnership
MEXC and Metacade have recently announced a strategic partnership agreement. Founded in 2018, MEXC (also known as MEXC Global) is a rapidly-growing cryptocurrency exchange with more than 6 million users in over 200 countries, including the USA, Canada and Australia. The exchange offers one of the widest ranges of cryptocurrencies with over 1,500+ coins listed on the platform.
Metacade Listing on Bitmart Exchange
The partnership between MEXC and Metacade follows the news that Metacade will list on Bitmart at the end of their presale. This listing agreement is a significant development for Metacade as it will enable the GameFi platform to expand its reach to brand-new investors across the world. The presale has also been successful so far, raising over $7.3m so far. MCADE will also be listed on Bitmart, another global cryptocurrency exchange ranked 21st in the CoinMarketCap exchange rankings and can be purchased on a range of decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap.
What is Metacade?
Metacade is an innovative platform that merges gaming and blockchain technology; it is a community-driven play-to-earn (P2E) arcade built on Ethereum blockchain where gamers can earn rewards through competitions, tournaments and writing reviews etc.. MCADE tokens fuel all transactions and activities on Metacade; players use them to access pay-to-play games or stake their tokens for income increase opportunities.
Russell Bennett CEO of Metacade commented: “The MEXC partnership is fantastic news for Metacade; being in partnership with such a reputable cryptocurrency exchange will only increase the credibility and trust in the Metacade project” .
The new partnership between MEXC and Metcade comes as welcome news to both parties involved; enabling them to benefit from each other’s strengths while expanding their presence globally through increased credibility by having an experienced cryptocurrency exchange partner behind them.